Serena Williams’ bid for a 24th Grand Slam title in singles officially came to a close after losing to Ajla Tomljavonic on Friday night, 2 September.
The tennis legend staved off five match points to prolong the three-hours-plus proceedings, but could not do more.
She was eliminated from the U.S. Open in the third round by Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 on Friday night in what is expected to be her final contest.
Williams dominated the match from the get-go, taking a 5-3 lead in the opening set.
However, Tomljanović rattled off four straight games in a Herculean effort to claim the first set 7-5.
Fatigue started to kick in early on in the second set. Both Williams and Tomljanović suffered through some errors, but they each managed to bounce back with jaw-dropping plays to stay neck-and-neck.
Williams went up 5-3 again, but Tomljanović made another comeback and forced a second-set tiebreaker.
Williams, though, eventually broke through to win it 7-6 (4).
Tomljanović proceeded to control the third and final set with ease, taking a 5-1 lead.
The sixth game saw the 29-year-old come back down 30-0 to win en route to the 6-1 finish.
Williams had saved six match points in the seventh and final game before Tomljanović pulled out the victory.
She has 366 career major match wins, 102 of which have come on Ashe, the most of all time.
Williams announced her impending retirement from the sport last month.
She turns 41 this month and recently told the world that she is ready to start “evolving” away from her playing days — she expressed distaste for the word “retirement” — and while she remained purposely vague about whether this appearance at Flushing Meadows definitely would represent her last hurrah, everyone assumed it will be.
“It’s been the most incredible ride and journey I’ve ever been on in my life,” Williams said, tears streaming down her cheeks shortly after one final shot landed in the net. “
Asked during an on-court interview whether she might reconsider walking away, Williams replied: “I don’t think so, but you never know.”
A little later, pressed on the same topic at her post-match news conference, Williams joked, “I always did love Australia,” the country that hosts the next Grand Slam tournament in January.
Asked what she planned to do on the first day of the rest of her life Saturday, Williams said she’d rest, spend time with Olympia and then added: “I’m definitely probably going to be karaoke-ing.”
Rafael Nadal, who plays in the men’s third round on Saturday, now has the opportunity to match Williams’ Open-era record of 23 Grand Slams.
Tomljanović is a 29-year-old Croatian-Australian professional tennis player with a win-loss record of 363-273.
This is the second straight year she made it to the third round of the U.S. Open.
I’m feeling really sorry, just because I love Serena just as much as you guys do. And what she’s done for me, for the sport of tennis, is incredible,” said Tomljanovic, who has never been past the quarterfinals at any major. “This is a surreal moment for me.”
Then, drawing laughs, Tomljanovic added: “I just thought she would beat me. … She’s Serena. That’s that’s just who she is: She’s the greatest of all time. Period.”